No onions nor garlic

And, most dear actors, eat no onions nor garlic, for we are to utter sweet breath; and do not doubt but to hear them say it is a sweet comedy.

- William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream


How refreshing it is to come across a comedy that’s genuinely, unabashedly funny – one that tries to provide belly-laughs on nearly every page and very often succeeds. Srividya Natarajan’s No Onions Nor Garlic was occupying my time along with a couple of other books. But I’m glad I cose to read it first – it’s a manic, immensely entertaining novel.

There’s much in No Onions No Garlic that draws on the work of comic masters of the past. Especiallly, the romantic confusions evoke P G Wodehouse’s Blandings Castle stories ...

Natarajan pulls it off so well, partly because she isn’t just imitating indiscriminately; her book has a style of its own that fits its setting very well. She has a good balance of the rhythms of speech and behaviour, she pokes fun at sacred cows without being mean-spirited about it .

For me, much of the fun of reading this book came from the sense that the author had a lot of fun writing it. I also appreciate the risks that go into carrying off something like this: good comedy is among the hardest things to do, and always so easy to get wrong. Natarajan goes all the way in the final chapter, with an ending that combines slapstick with a parody of lost-and-found scenes in Indian movies and the introduction of a romantic relationship that Wodehouse would have baulked at. It’s wonderfully ticklish, colourful and melodramatic, not all that different in its effect from the final act of a Shakespeare comedy where all the loose ends are tied up.

The Secret - My views...

The woman with long, dark hair looks yearningly at the gold necklace in the window of a jewelry store. She fixates on the bling. There's some kind of disruption in the atmosphere. And then, the necklace is draped around her neck.
The scenes unfold in The Secret, a 90-minute-long DVD advocating the power of positive thinking that has sold 2 million copies. More than 5.2 million copies of the book of the same name are in print.
"The Secret " is a new movie I saw last evening. To my knowledge it’s not playing in theatres at this time, but you can get The Secret DVD for under $30 or take a teaser online for less than $5. I watched the DVD lent bya friend. I think this movie has the potential to spread rapidly via word of mouth, and I expect it will become the next underground hit, at least among people with a passion for personal development.
Every generation gets the pyramid scheme it deserves, and ours begins and ends with The Secret, a self-help phenomenon that differs little from previous philosophies of positive thinking, except that it uses the veneer of “science” to elevate it beyond the obvious quackery.
Well, the actual philosophy, for starters. In sum, the secret is the “law of attraction” – nothing more, nothing less. Put another way, “thoughts become things,” or, “when you visualize, you materialize.” Yes, it’s good, old-fashioned positive thinking.
It is curious indeed that reality has no place in the Secret World, but then again, reality is what you believe it to be, not what it actually is. But what it “is” is only what you believe it to be, so, uh, you can see where this leads. If you’re fat, it’s not because you eat too much or exercise too little; you have only the image of the fat body in your mind to blame.
What the film doesn’t answer, however, is how the universe is to re-arrange itself if two people send their thoughts to the realm of the rainbows that are in direct conflict with each other.
personally, I believe:
a. the mind is much much much more powerful and robust than we give it credit for and yes it does operate in ways outside the five senses...
b. that your reality is greatly influenced by your thoughts..

I find much of the documentary up-beat, good hearted, encouraging. It also has excellent production values, cinematography, effects, and sound. And the editing is excellent. I’m especially impressed by the cutting-edge method of delivery — internet streaming — ushering in a new era of movies on demand with the click of a mouse.

I also like the message that what we bring into our lives begins with a vision, a longed-for aspiration — a good reminder for those of us who haven’t yet stretched the wings of possibility and allowed ourselves to embrace higher possibilities. If The Secret opens the way to expanded dreams, it serves a useful purpose.

What concerns me, however, are the program’s primary suppositions. The message, repeated in different words by the various guests, is that if we simply intend and visualize and dream big enough, we can “manifest” all our dreams — effortlessly, magically, mystically.

There are some successful people who claim to have mastered “The Secret” and who have manifested their dreams and desires. Few of them tell us about their years of struggle and labor and preparation.

By all means strive in the direction of your dreams! Visualize a grand life! Then get to work. While we cannot control the outcomes, we can control our efforts. And by making the effort, we increase the odds of creating a larger life.

I close with my warmest wishes, and with a reminder from Henry David Thoreau: “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost. Now put foundations under them.”

The Kite Runner

After reading Khaled Hosseini's second best book, I had my heart set on his debut, The Kite Runner. As tempting as it was, I refused to finish the book in one sitting. I savored it, word by word, line by line, reluctantly turning the pages as the novel was drawing to a close. Have you observed how following a calamity, natural or man made, the media is rife with people stories; stories that provide first hand account of what had happened and what it was like to be caught in that pandemonium. That's exactly how I look at The Kite Runner as well. As a one man's narration of how his life was influenced by the ethnic clashes in Afghanistan, and the twists and turns in the nation's political setup.



Review: Whenever an ambulance or a fire engine passes by when I am on the road, my first reaction is to say a 20 second prayer. A prayer for the well being of the person who has met with the accident, and a prayer to thank God for making me and my family to be at the right place at the right time. That's the kind of reaction that this novel invoked. After reading the book, I felt awful for what the Afghans had/have to go through and wished that things changed for the better, sooner than later. Then I felt thankful for being endowed with the privilege of leading a normal life. As boring as normal can sometimes be, I am more than willing to take it any day.



Rating: Quick read, easy to follow, compelling narration, do yourself a favor by reading this book. I rate this book as outstanding.